WJ Groundwater Canada have been busy working away on Laird Station, part of the ever-present Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit System.
The work at Laird Station was one of our first ever projects in Toronto, the construction beginning back in 2016 with piling work and excavation.
Laird Station will be the 13th station heading east along the route, and when it’s open, will include two entrances, on-street connections to TTC bus routes, 60 outdoor bicycle parking spaces, a station plaza, plus a new retail space for commuters to enjoy.
Construction on the whole line is coming along nicely, and it won’t be long before you’ll start seeing more progress. Back at Laird, the first section of the rounded wall was completed in March 2019, which will help to maintain the stability of the mining activity. This mining activity is taking place up to 25m below the road surface, with the cars atop blissfully unaware of the scale of work happening beneath them.
What’s unique about Laird Station is that it will be used as a turnback station, meaning that special track work will need to be added to allow the vehicles to change direction. Storage track will also need to be installed on the east of the station to host the light rail vehicles when they’re not in use.
If you’re interested in how the shaft for Laird Station was excavated, the team at Crosslinx set up a time lapse video to capture the monumental task which was completed. Here, you can see how the tunnelling was completed using sequential excavation techniques, with support being provided by a sprayed concrete lining. This increasingly popular technique is often used in projects in the UK.
The shaft itself will be a permanent fixture and can be used for ventilation and emergency exits.
The project is expected to be completed in 2021, and once finished, it will have more than 25 new stations and stops along the 19km track, meaning people will be able to get across town up to 60% faster, connecting communities along the way.
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